Is it fit for the intended journey?

The Is it fit for the intended journey guide was developed to assist producers and livestock transporters in assessing the suitability of pigs for loading and transport for any intended journey.

The guide outlines the principles of loading and transport, how to assess pigs to determine whether they are fit to load and a final checklist to ensure standards are being adhered to.

Value for producers:

• Ensures best practice loading as per a producer's responsibilities, but also as per society's expectations.
• Ensures good animal welfare outcomes for pigs being transported.
• Improves awareness of transport legislation with regards to transporting pigs.

Recommendations:

• Pigs find loading, transport, and unloading stressful, so careful handling and planning of the trip is important
• Well-designed and managed loading facilities will improve ease of loading and welfare of pigs
• Weather conditions (especially hot weather) should be taken into account and adjusted for accordingly
• Animals deemed unfit for a journey due to injury or distress should not be loaded, and must be treated on-farm or euthanised.